May Wrap-Up

It's hard to believe that June starts tomorrow. It took so long for the month of May to get rolling enough to  actually feel like spring, but now it's over already. Once it truly warmed up, it was a banner month. You see, even though the winter tried to knock us down, the spring rains tried to build us right back up. Despite the losses, the surviving plants look better than ever.

Chinese Fringe Tree

As with most gardeners, I have been hard at work this month. I can't believe how many plants I have put into the ground! Some were replacements for those done in by winter, and some were new perennials. But most of the hard work involved the summer annuals and vegetables. I don't really mind all the work, really. It would just be so much easier if I could neglect all my other obligations when this was going on.

Amsonia Hubrichtii

Amsonia Blue Ice

And even though I enjoy the work, that doesn't mean that I'm not exhausted! I work and I work, but I never seem to get done. Plant, prune, fertilize, deadhead, water, mulch, weed, and on and on it goes. Funny, but most avid gardeners seem to be from the older generations, like me. But for the energy it takes, you'd think it would be more for the younger folks.

Columbine Winky Double

Cornus kousa Heart Throb

 And before you think that I don't take time to enjoy the fruits of my labors, I need to clarify. Every evening after dinner, I go out to sit on the "veranda" and admire it all. My camera is always close at hand, in case I see something that begs to be captured.

Dragonwing begonia

Shade container with Reiger begonias and other fillers

Container with begonias, fiber optic grass, and other fillers

Still, it will be nice when summer wears on, and I don't have so much work staring me in the face all the time. That's when I do more fun projects like making garden art, or less fun projects like cleaning out my garden mess in the garage.

Yarrow Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight

Bearded iris Blue Suede Shoes or Best Bet

Allium Mediterranean Bells

May is usually the month of the roses, but not quite this year. I'm just happy some of them showed up at all, even though it was May 28 by the time the first one bloomed. This is about a month behind schedule. I'm just glad they are here at all.

Sunny Knockout Rose

Funny Face rose

Zepherine Drouhin rose

 

May also seems to be incredibly busy in the non garden world too. Graduations, proms, year end parties, Mother's Day, you name it, there's always a special occasion to celebrate. I say, let's celebrate the fact that it's time to garden again.

Moonshine Yarrow

Peony unknown

Celosia

Sunny container featuring Petunia Crazytunia Pulse

Glamoflauge Grape petunia

Violet tubeflower

So onward to June, may it be just as lovely as the fair month of May!

Heuchera Circus

Heuchera Coral bells

May, the Fairest of Them All

Every month has something to show in the garden. Even the winter months have interesting textures to show us. But I find May to be the fairest of them all.

Flowers bloom in earnest, the weather warms, and the garden grows.

 Excitement builds as vegetables are planted, containers are filled, and annuals go into beds.

Plants are generally green and fresh, and insect damage hasn't yet become a problem. You just have to love it! 

 The harsh, dry summer weather seems far away at this point.  It rains and rains, and everything is so green that it almost makes your eyes hurt. Maybe this will be a wet summer, it's hard to say at this point. But usually, the rains stop around June and from then on, it's a battle to keep things watered. 

 Now one of my usual favorite parts of May is when the roses begin to bloom. That first flush of blooms is always the finest. But the sad news is that our harsh winter really did a number on my rose garden, as it did in so many other areas. I'm not sure when I'll see any roses this year, if any. It's disappointing, but I'm trying to take it in stride. I've done a lot of tweaking to my rose garden, discarding the dead ones, and also those that are under performers. When my rose garden comes back to life, the theory is that it should look better than ever. In the mean time, here is what it looked like in years past.

Maybe one of the reasons that I like May so much is that it's my birthday month, and is followed quickly by Mother's Day. I can't say that I mind the attention. And it does tend to start out my favorite month with a bang.

I'm sure that others could make a strong case for their own favorites, but for me, it will be always be May, the fairest of them all.

The Race is On

Tuesday it snowed. Just a little, but it was enough to stick for a few hours. By Sunday, it was 80 degrees. With roller coaster weather like that, I guess I'll just have to hold on and enjoy the ups and downs. Luckily, there are more ups than downs now. In about three weeks, it will be time to plant summer flowers and vegetables. It's hard to believe. Honestly, I'll probably put things off an extra week or so, just to be safe. After all, the chill doesn't seem quite ready to let go this year.

The race to garden is on! We may still have a few frosts, but the deep chill is gone. There are plenty of garden tasks to attend to in spring. Spring crops can go in the ground, winter clean up continues, perennials are often safe to plant, and there are pansies and other cool weather flowers to plant.

 

But the best part of spring is watching all the flowers bloom. It seems like every day there is a new surprise.

Just today, I found myself actually holding a new tulip in my hand just to admire it. It's petals are so soft and velvety.

You'd think I'd get used to it. You'd think I wouldn't get excited every single time a new flower pops up. But I do!

 

I'm trying to be a little wiser this year. I know I shouldn't try to do everything at once. I'm taking a different approach. Instead of gardening for hours at a time, I just do a little each day. My muscles will surely thank me, don't you think?

Remember, a tortoise can win the race just as easily as the hare! 

An Old Friend Returns...

Here in the north, we all wondered if our old friend spring would ever come back. Winter this year was brutal and tenacious. But finally, finally, spring is here. It's not quite as flashy yet as spring can sometimes be, but it's here nonetheless. Somehow, I'm think the flashy part is still to come.

Spring sometimes come with a big fanfare, but not this time. The days are gently warming instead. I've heard that the slow warm up is actually better. The slow arrival means less severe weather, and it also means less chance that the trees will bloom too early and get damaged by frost.

So I'm just going to accept my old friend as is. I'm glad he's back, and I accept his reticence.

There's another good part about this cool spring. It actually gives me time to catch up all those garden chores that tend to pile up over the winter. I finally got all the  winter cleanup done, and then planted pansies in the window boxes.

I still need to plant the spring veggies, but that will happen this week. And the roses still need to be pruned, but they are really slow to get growing so I'll just let them rest for awhile longer. Hubby will mow the lawn for the first time this weekend. Then we'll truly know that spring is back.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to get through winter without being discouraged. It seemed like it would never be warm again, like I'd never see natural green again. And it certainly felt like the flowers would never bloom again. But you know what? I'm not sure I'd appreciate spring so much if I didn't have to fight so hard to see it.

Besides, if I lived in a warmer climate, I wouldn't get to enjoy all these beautiful spring bulb flowers except as a grocery store bouquet. There's just something about seeing these little bright color spots when all the rest of the world is still a little gray. It makes me appreciate them even more.

So welcome back old friend. I missed you. Come, stay awhile. And don't stay gone so long next time.